Powerpuzzle

After reading John Tulloch’s letter regarding Shetland’s grid link/wind farm (“Wind farms ‘pup’ ”, 1 August) it took me a few days to get a clear understanding of what was said.

I decided that the decision by Ofgem to approve a £1.3 billion project to supply electricity to 22,000 people on Shetland could not be true. I had expected an immediate response to his letter from Ofgem explaining the reason for their decision and showing that it was an economically viable project.

As there has been no response, my worst fears have been realised. Is no one accountable for this decision?

Equally worrying is John Tulloch’s explanation of the “constrained off” payments made to wind farm operators.

If Ofgem are not responsible for drawing up these contracts, who is? It appears to me as if the whole energy sector operates in Great Britain with no one being made responsible or accountable for capital investment or the price of electricity.

I have pointed out in these columns before that the price of electricity increased on average by 4 per cent per year compound between 2004 and 2019, an increase of more than 80 per cent.

I do not understand why energy is not a top priority for politicians and for them to

stop these cost increases being passed on to the consumer.

C SCOTT Mortonhall Road, Edinburgh

The Viking Wind Farm on Shetland received the blessing from Holyrood over its planning application, even although the massive output (which is far in excess of that required on the islands) meant the project was considered unviable by Ofgem.

The magic solution was a plan to lay a £600 million subsea interconnector to Wick which apparently now makes the wind farm a viable proposition. Where is the economic acumen at Holyrood when, over the winter, consumers were faced with a £1 million a day constraint payment bill as there was insufficient demand in Scotland for the excess renewable energy being generated?

Spending £600 million to bring hundreds of Mwhours of energy to a saturated Scottish energy market is scarcely sound economics in the midst of a pandemic!

If the Finance Secretary has £600 million lying unused in Edinburgh, why was the cash not allocated to increase the child nursery allocation from 600 hours to the 1,100 hours promised by Holyrood ?

IAN MOIR Queen Street, Castle Douglas